Bell Media, one of Canada’s premier multimedia companies, produced a live-to-air UHD broadcast of the iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards (MMVAs) in downtown Toronto in June, with an extensive set up that included a 4K OB truck from Dome Productions. Along with the 4K truck from Dome, the outdoor event employed two audio mobile trucks from Broadcast Audio Services (BAS) and Livewire Remote Recorders, an on-site broadcast control room and two audio mixing rooms. Bell Media was set on a wide-angle look but didn’t want the barrel distortion common with 2/3” sensor wide-angle lenses, so they turned to the PL 14-35mm Cabrio lens from the FUJIFILM Optical Devices Division.
   

“There are a lot of challenges with a live UHD broadcast,” said David Azoulay, Senior Technical Director, Bell Media. “Although your show is being produced in 4K, the HD broadcast is still the most important part of the equation. The 14-35mm Cabrio lens captured the look we couldn’t achieve with the others lenses we were using. The performance of Nick Jonas was shot almost exclusively on our Steadicam rig with the FUJINON Cabrio 14-35mm lens, and it worked out perfectly for what we wanted to do.”

Designed using the latest optical simulation technology, the PL 14-35mm lens offers exceptional optical performance in the center of the image and in the corners of the frame. The digital servo’s 16-bit encoding assures operators that all lens data output—including the position of the zoom, iris, and focus—is extremely accurate. The PL 14-35mm lens has a detachable servo drive, and supports Lens Data System (LDS) and /i metadata formats.

Azoulay added, “I use FUJINON lenses frequently. I produce a lot of variety-type of shows, and we’re always using wide-angle optics for musical performances. I particularly love FUJINON’s HA14x4.5BERM and use it on all my shows.”

Of the 16 cameras that Bell Media used for the MMVA’s, 15 were Sony HDC-4300L’s equipped with a 2/3” sensor. The Cabrio lens was used on a Sony PMW-F55 camcorder with a 35mm sensor.